Month: July 2017

The passage of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act) has unlocked a wider array of U.S. government spending data for public consumption. Among the beneficiaries of this data are federal grant applicants and the new beta version of USAspending.gov. (Note: The data is still being migrated, so more historical data is available here.)

We had a great time talking with you all in the grants community on Twitter Tuesday. #GrantChat is a great way for grant professionals to connect, share resources, and discuss questions. We started by sharing a few bad grant puns and jokes, but also shared a number of resources:

There are lots of online resources available for those new to federal grants as well as for those that are more experienced. Grants.gov Community Blog and the #grantchat community on Twitter are focused on bringing those resources to you.

Today, GrantChat.org has invited us to be a guest on their weekly #grantchat Twitter discussion. Here is a preview of today’s chat discussion topics:

Federal grants fund a variety of public-serving missions, which includes many ways to support all children’s education, health, and development. Below are funding opportunities posted this week that support these causes.

Over the years, synonymous data elements on federal grant forms have sometimes been used interchangeably. For example, forms from different systems and applications have listed “address” as “Street 1”, as “Address Line 1” or as “Street Address Line 1”.

If you have been in the federal grants community for any time at all, you probably know that your organization needs an account with the System for Award Management (SAM), or SAM.gov, to do business (e.g., receive grants) from the U.S. government.

SAM registration is relatively simple (you’ll need a DUNS number), and it’s free. However, there is no shortage of spam calls and emails offering paid services to register and maintain your registration. These can cost hundreds of dollars, but be cautious when responding to such appeals. Registering, renewing, and updating your SAM registration is absolutely free.

Here, we highlight a few awards promoting the development of new technologies for science, health and security from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD).

“You are eligible for FREE grants! Just fill out this quick application: First & Last Name, Home Address, Birthdate, Social Security Number (SSN), and Bank Account & Routing Numbers to receive the grant” — that is a grant scam.

You answer a phone call: “Hi, this is Greg McCaffrey from the Federal Bureau of Grant Awards. Based on your tax records, you qualify for a federal grant of $5,300. You just have to pay the service fee of $125 via wire transfer” — that is a grant scam.

Unfortunately, a lot of people attempt to scam us out of our hard-earned money, and they often use the guise of government grants. The specific tactics, questions, and circumstances scam artists use will continue to change, so we have to remain aware and cautious. How do we avoid being a victim of a scam?